Version July 2025
| System | Characteristic | Diagnoses to consider | |
| Constitutional | Sleep disorder | Fibromyalgia | |
| Joints | Distribution | 1st metatarsophalangeal joint | Osteoarthritis, gout |
| Carpometacarpal joint | Osteoarthritis | ||
| Distal interphalangeal joints | Osteoarthritis, psoriatic arthritis, gout | ||
| Digits 1 to 3 of hand | Carpal tunnel syndrome, pseudogout | ||
| Morning lower back pain >1 hour | Spondyloarthritis | ||
| Enthesitis (eg, Achilles tendonitis) | Spondyloarthritis | ||
| Proximal joint stiffness (ie, shoulders and hips) | Polymyalgia rheumatica | ||
| Proximal muscle weakness (ie, shoulders and hips) | Inflammatory myopathy | ||
| Number | Monoarticular | Crystalline arthritis, Lyme arthritis, septic arthritis | |
| Oligoarticular | Spondyloarthritis | ||
| Characteristics | Triggering or locking of one or more digits of the hand | Stenosing tenosynovitis | |
| Morning stiffness <1 hour | Noninflammatory etiologies | ||
| Hyperextensible joints | Hypermobility syndrome | ||
| Numbness and/or tingling | Carpal tunnel syndrome, neuropathy | ||
| Joint pain remits spontaneously | Crystalline arthritis, palindromic rheumatism | ||
| Infectious disease | Recent sick contacts or viral syndrome | Viral arthritis | |
| Other evidence of infection (eg, fever, asthenia) | Septic arthritis | ||
| Lyme disease endemicity | Lyme arthritis | ||
| Mucocutaneous | Dry mouth/eyes | Sjögren's disease | |
| Malar rash (ie, erythematous rash across nose and cheeks) | Systemic lupus erythematosus | ||
| Discoid lesions (ie, thick, scaly, raised patch of skin) | Systemic lupus erythematosus | ||
| Gottron's papules (ie, erythematous, scaly patches over extensor surfaces) | Dermatomyositis | ||
| Nail changes | Psoriatic arthritis | ||
| Psoriasis | Psoriatic arthritis | ||
| Pulmonary | Dyspnea, cough | Inflammatory myopathy, systemic lupus erythematosus, scleroderma, sarcoidosis | |
| Vascular | Raynaud phenomenon (ie, reversible digital ischemia) | Systemic lupus erythematosus, scleroderma | |
| Gastrointestinal | Inflammatory bowel disease | Inflammatory bowel disease-associated arthritis | |
| Bloody bowel movements | Inflammatory bowel disease-associated arthritis | ||
